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Angel's share would be a nice, warm place when there were not too many drunkards that tell fantasies and real-life stories through their booze. It was one of those days where the tavern was peaceful, and it was what Diluc liked, although he worked as the bartender there for years. He had grown accustomed to it, and yet he never liked their loud mouths.
He had just finished checking the inventory and returned through the back door of the tavern only to find a blonde costumer in a foreign costume, with his little floating companion checking out the bottles of wine that laid idle on the counter.
“ Interested with the wines, Aether? ” Diluc said as he stepped out of the shadows,
Aether and Paimon were both surprised but became relieved when they saw it was just him. “ Hey! Don't come out of nowhere and scare Paimon like that! ” Paimon exclaimed, stomping her foot on the air,
“ My apologies, Paimon. I thought you two were supposed to be in Liyue right now? ” Diluc asked, entering the bar to prepare a glass of water for the two travelers.
They each took the glass and emptied its content before putting it back down, aether wiped away the dripping water from the side of his mouth. “ We were, but there was not much to do there so we came by to say hi. ” Aether explained,
“ Yeah! And Paimon wanted some sticky honey roast too but Aether didn't buy Paimon some, hmph! ”,
“ I'm sorry, I'm sorry! We'll get one later! ”.
Diluc scoffed at their conversation, turning his back on them to wipe away the dust that accumulated of the bottles on the shelves. Listening on their usual talks with blithe. He hummed as his hands and fabric gently worked its way with the bottles, while turning it around with the other. He was careful to not accidentally break them.
“ Ma— Ehem, Diluc. How have you been doing in this past few days? ” Aether spoke,
“ I have been well, thank you for asking. And you, Aether? Have your travels been fruitful? ”,
“ Mm, no.. Not really, there's still nothing. But I-I've been fine! Thank you for asking too! ”,
“ Hey, Master Diluc, can Paimon use one of your tables as bed? Paimon's tired with the travel. ” Paimon said, yawning. This was normal to whenever they come here for a visit from afar, Diluc prepared a pillow and blanket for them just in case since their last visit.
He opened one of the cupboards and fished out a pillow and a blanket that was the perfect size for Paimon. A squeal came from Paimon's lips when they saw the comfy items just for them, “ Here, I prepared this for you. ” said Diluc as he gave Paimon the items.
Paimon excitedly took the items from his hand, marveling by how soft they were. “ Thank you, Master Diluc! Paimon will not say anything bad about you ever again! ”, they floated up the stairs afterwards, probably to go to their usual sleeping spot. Diluc pondered about what Paimon meant regarding the way anything bad about him, well, he wasn't too surprised since it was Paimon after all. Aether chuckled, “ So, do you have one for me too? ”, Diluc glanced at Aether who was leaning on the counter with a mischievous smile on his face.
“ Yes, I do. Are you tired as well? ” Diluc's answer caused Aether to get startled— well, Diluc's formality was to be expected from him. This reaction confused Diluc for a moment until he came to realization and went back to his work,
“ I noticed that the both of you look drained out from your travels whenever you came to visit, and with Paimon asking to take some rest. I figured it would be best if I bring you some items that will make you comfortable with your stay. ” Diluc explained.
There was a long pause between the two of them, if Paimon was here, they would have thought of something to lighten up the mood. Yet Diluc wasn't Paimon or even close to Paimon, he wasn't that good at doing just that, so instead he let it slide and let the silence speak.
Aether cleared his throat and said, “ Thank you for the kind gesture, Diluc. But don't worry about me! I don't get tired pretty easily. ”
“ Alright, but they're still here in case you'll surrender to sleep. ”
---
Four costumers came in and ordered drinks, they were some guys from the adventurer's guild that Aether seemed to know of. Diluc prepared a batch of wine for them as they ordered, then placed them on a tray and delivered their drinks to them.
“ Hey, Diluc.. ” Aether spoke as soon as he got back on the bar. “ Yes? ” Diluc responded, gazing at him.
“ I've been wondering.. how do you make wine? I mean I see you mix them— " Aether paused, looking down to think of what more to say and what questions to ask. But Diluc could tell he didn't know what else there was to add so he spoke,
“ The wine is like a base, we add ingredients to that to make the wine less bland. You don't think dandelion wine immediately is served on a bottle here in the tavern, don't you? ”
Aether's eyes seemed to lit up with interest, nodding his head at the end of Diluc's sentence. “ Oh, I see, so it's like that. ”, for some reason, something made Diluc ask if Aether would be interested in learning bartending. He would teach him, free of charge. Aether took up the offer immediately and watched Diluc preparing the necessary items and a spare wine and ingredients for Aether to use. Aether looked at the items, confused as to what they are. Diluc seemed to understand what he was thinking at the moment and named each of them as he pointed with his finger.
When it was all finally over, Diluc explained the instructions on how to properly mix in the simplest way as he could— and to put them to work by making a sample. As soon as he was done and placed the final product on the bar, he looked at Aether who gazed at the alcohol he produced and back to the items.
“ Now it's your turn ” Diluc said, gesturing at the items for mixology.
“ Alright! ” Aether said, his tone had some determination in it. He watched on the side, mentally taking notes of the way he held the base of the cup, from pouring to mixing.
Diluc doesn't understand the reason why but he found Aether quite cute when he's serious and determined on doing something. Now it came to the shaking part, Aether poured all the contents of the cup into the cocktail shaker but when he lifted it up and started to shake— the liquid spilled at his face, the item fell to the wooden floor with a loud clank but Diluc couldn't care less.
He quickly grabbed a towel and helped Aether wipe the liquid on his face— for some odd reason, it made him feel like he wanted to laugh. It seemed to be strong urge that he had to puff his cheeks to refrain himself from laughing.
Aether looked at him and immediately his eyes fell on Diluc's puffed cheeks,
“ Diluc w— ”, his soft laughter competed with the nearby drunkards roaring laughter, the light from the window as well as his smile made it all seem like Diluc was a new person, something that Aether had never seen before. The blonde's eyes grew wide as he stared at the other dumbfoundly— as if he was caught in a trance, something about that smile and the softness of his laugh made his stomach feel giddy.
Diluc caught himself, his face flushed, almost like the color of his hair. He ducked down to hide his embarrassment, picking up the shaker that fell to the ground but averted his gaze to avoid seeing Aether's face, and went to the sink to clean it off. Mentally cursing at himself for letting it out.
“ Diluc —.. ”,
“ ..Yes? ” He asked, turning around. Aether's arms reached to up and cupped his face, wearing the same smile he memorized so well. He froze under his touch, mesmerized by Aether's amber eyes.
“ Your smile is beautiful. ”